<strong>Dear Editor:</strong> I hope my members of Congress, Senator Joe Manchin and Representatives Capito and Jenkins will work to fund diplomacy, not war. In his address to Congress, President Trump said, “We want harmony and stability, not war and conflict.” But his policy proposals - to add $54 billion in new Pentagon spending and make devastating cuts to the State Department and USAID - don’t match up with the rhetoric. As Sen. Murphy (CT) tweeted: “Undercutting diplomacy & foreign aid makes our military’s job harder. Trump’s ‘security budget’ completely misses the point.” U.S. war spending is already unprecedented, equaling what the next seven countries combined spend on their military forces. More than 120 retired three- and four-star generals wrote: “We know from our service in uniform that many of the crises our nation faces do not have military solutions alone.” Please, Senator Manchin and Representatives Capito and Jenkins, do not vote to fund instruments of war but those of peace. Our children are counting on you. <em>Sincerely,</em> <em>Sally Cooper </em> <em>Lewisburg</em>
